No Matter the Cost
by Hallowed Thoughts
Summary: To protect that which you care about, you must be willing to sacrifice. Naruto will learn that no sacrifice is too small to ensure the safety and happiness of those he cares about. It helps to have a zanpakuto that feels the same way. Pairings to be determined.
1. Awakening

**Author's Note:** Welcome, one and all, to my first true story. I hope you all enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto (thank god)

* * *

No Matter the Cost

Chapter 1: Awakening

Naruto blinked as his eyes adjusted to the landscape before him. The boy gazed upon an unfamiliar picture: an old, decrepit shack that stood upon the top of a hill. Glancing up, a thunderstorm could be observed in progress, the wind howling around him and lightning striking through the darkened skies at random intervals. The landscape around him would become illuminated with each strike of lightning, each detail vividly highlighted, only to descend back into obscurity after the light faded. Rain poured down from the dark storm clouds, soaking the blonde jinchuurinki to the bone. Each drop of water felt like the sting of a bee due to the ferocity with which the winds hurled the rain at him.

Despite the violent nature of the skies above him, Naruto felt calm. Calmer than he could recall feeling in... a very long time. For reasons unknown, the scene he was witnessing did not serve to unnerve him despite its bleak and tumultuous nature; instead, he felt as if he belonged here, as if he was an integral part of the chaos. The fury of the winds and the suddenness of the lightning made him feel whole, as if he had been waiting his whole life to witness this very storm.

As the boy grew comfortable with his surroundings, he looked down from the heavens to observe the weather-beaten shack further. The gales of wind shook the sides of the shanty slightly, but the shack appeared to be structurally sound enough to withstand the rage of the storm. Naruto took note that the shack was made of wood that had been chopped down long ago if the age of the shack was anything to go by. It was difficult for the young jinchuurinki to see the shack properly between the flashes of lightning, so he walked forward, only then realizing he had been standing the entire time.

The small building grew larger as he got closer, and Naruto noticed the door on the front of the shack was ajar slightly. He reached out to the door, intending to open it and learn more from what was contained within, but something inside of him froze. A part of him was afraid of what he would see inside, although for what reason, Naruto could not fathom. He pushed aside his fear; he was Uzumaki Naruto. What would he fear inside of some old, crappy shack like this?

Naruto yanked the door to the shack open, and stepped inside. Inside, he could see bloodstains in the center of the room and along the edges. A small fire burned in a corner of the shack, although calling it a fire would be kind. It was closer to a pile of glowing embers than it was a true fire, but the heat it emanated was strong nonetheless. The fire was surrounded by three stones of a light gray color intended to stop the fire from spreading out of control. Naruto could see a faint outline of a grinning fox lying underneath the fire, almost taunting Naruto with the grin.

All of this was of interest to Naruto but none more so than the girl sitting in a wooden chair opposite of the tiny fire. She was gently strumming at a lyre she held in her hand, creating a melancholy melody that wrenched at Naruto's heart. She continued to play, her eyes closed in concentration, as Naruto stared at her. She was dressed in a crimson kimono, her hair put into an elaborate bun on top of her head, and her skin was a very pale white, as if she never saw the sun. Her features were delicate: her slim wrist, her raised cheekbones, her poised fingers gliding across the lyre.

The girl stopped playing her instrument and opened her eyes to look at Naruto. The jinchuurinki was startled to see her eyes were a deep crimson, the same color as her kimono. Naruto found himself drawn to her eyes, and after a moment's thinking, he realized why. Unlike the villagers' eyes, hers held no hatred; unlike Sasuke's, hers held no contempt; unlike Iruka's, hers held no pity. They were eyes filled with understanding and empathy, two things Naruto had long convinced himself no longer existed for him.

As Naruto came to this conclusion, the kimono-clad girl opened her mouth and spoke.

"Can you hear me?" she asked him in a quiet but firm voice.

Naruto frowned in confusion.

"Of course I can," he replied slowly. "Should I not be able to?"

The girl smiled back at him, and he felt his whole being lighten in response. "You are able to hear me," said the girl. "I am glad. But I must admit, iit took you almost 13 years before you found me, so I wasn't sure if you'd be able to hear me so quickly."

Naruto's confusion, and his frown, only deepened. After a quiet minute of thinking, the girl looking at him patiently, he squinted his eyes and tilted his head.

"I don't get it."

The girl giggled daintily at his confusion. "Allow me to explain," she offered. "This place we are at is a representation of your subconscious. Who you truly are is displayed here, although it may not be apparent at first."

Naruto interrupted her. "If this is all in my head..." he began. "Does that mean you are too?"

The girl nodded. "I am a part of you as well; however, I am more than just a part of your personality," explained the girl. "I am your zanpakuto. I am the part of you that refuses to surrender or give up. I am the part of you that fights to preserve the integrity of yourself and those around you. And whenever you are in need, you can draw upon my power."

Naruto continued to look at her, a dim light of understanding reaching his eyes but not completely banishing the confusion apparent in the cerulean orbs. "I'm not sure what you mean exactly," he said slowly.

The girl simply smiled at him in return. "It's okay," she responded. "You'll know once you leave here. Just remember my name, and all will be well." At this, the girl leaned in close to Naruto, never breaking eye contact.

"My name is..."

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he remembered where he was. Zabuza was attacking. Kakashi was fighting. Sakura was protecting. And Sasuke...

His eyes glanced down to the Uchiha who was lying in his arms riddled with senbon.

Sasuke was dying.

At that thought, Naruto's anger and determination filled his entire being. He could faintly hear the masked hunter-nin speaking to him. Speaking of Sasuke.

In that moment, he drew from a source of power he never had felt before. Two sources of power, in fact.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Naruto's body exploded with a foul, red chakra that quickly surrounded his body. Senbon were pushed out of his body as the holes they left behind were quickly healed by the demonic chakra. Said chakra began to ripple out from his body, spiraling upwards where it formed the image of a fox smirking at the hunter-nin before dissipating. Naruto looked at the masked ninja with blood-red eyes, his pupils turned into slits. He was not done yet, however.

Holding his arm out to the side, hand outstretched, Naruto spoke these words without thinking. He had no clue why he was saying these words, but they would eventually come to signal the death of those who opposed him.

"Bleed, Jikogisei (Self-Sacrifice)."

Upon Naruto uttering those words, the blood Naruto had lost from being pierced with the masked ninja's needles rose off of the ground and went to his palm, absorbing one another and becoming a large orb of blood. The blood then elongated and thinned until it had formed itself into the shape of a katana.

The blade of the katana was as long as Naruto's arm and curved up slightly towards the end of the blade. The guard was a spiral exactly like that on the back of Naruto's jumpsuit that bent backwards slightly towards the handle. The handle was just long enough to Naruto to grip with two hands if he so pleased yet short enough to be used with one hand comfortably.

Naruto gripped the katana as he stared at the hunter-nin. With a fierce growl, he swung the katana at his enemy, slashing the air in front of him. From his sword came a red, hazy aura that formed into the shape of a crescent and was sent flying at rapid speeds towards the ice user.

* * *

Haku's eyes widened as he witnessed the genin before him hurl an attack his way. While he had no way of knowing how dangerous the move would be, his confidence in the strength of his ice mirrors had been ripped to shreds upon feeling the raw malice emanating from his blonde opponent. His instincts screamed at him to move, and he complied, leaping from his ice mirror to another one nearby. As he landed in his new refuge, he could see the mirror in his peripheral vision. What was left of it, at least. The attack had destroyed the mirror into several pieces and had even continued a small way out into the mist.

The ice ninja looked at his opponent who had also witnessed the power his new technique was capable. The blonde had only observed for a second longer than Haku before his eyes snapped over to where Haku had fled. The Konoha shinobi lunged forward, the red chakra enhancing his muscles to a point where Haku was barely able to track the blonde's movements.

The masked ninja fled his mirror yet again as it was destroyed, only this time by a punch thrown by his opponent that created a shockwave through the mirror that utterly destroyed it. Haku landed in his mirror and, realizing defense could not win the fight for him, quickly fired a barrage of senbon at Naruto. Turning, the genin roared in fury at the attack and accompanying the roar was a wave of chakra that knocked all the needles out of their flight and sent them spinning into the ground.

Haku couldn't believe his attack had been repelled so effortlessly, but he had no time to be astonished. The demonic-looking genin had launched himself at the ice ninja again, this time stabbing forth with the katana that had unleashed the destructive attack earlier. Haku quickly exited the mirror yet again as the blonde stabbed clean through the reflective ice, shattering the mirror just like the rest as the guard ran into the ice.

Haku fled towards yet another mirror, his mind racing to find a way to defeat the monster he had suddenly found himself facing. Before he could formulate a plan of action or even reach another mirror, he felt his ankle flare up in pain as it was roughly grabbed. Angling his head downward, he only caught a glimpse of the raw anger in the blonde's red eyes before he was brutally hurled in the direction opposite of the one he had been fleeing, crashing roughly into the ground.

The ice ninja stood, despair filling his body. He had failed Zabuza. He had not been strong enough, had not been a good enough weapon, and had been defeated. The only thing left to do was wait for death to relieve him of the pain of failing his precious person. Another roar of fury indicated death would be coming for him very shortly in the form of a blonde, rage-fueled maelstrom. He turned to see the genin charging him, his sword held poised to cut him from shoulder to hip. He could feel his mask, damaged beyond repair from the crash into the ground, break into pieces and fall off of his face as he waited for the Shinigami's embrace.

Only to see Naruto stopped inches away from ending his life, staring into Haku's face with wide, cerulean eyes.

"H... Haku?"

* * *

Kakashi observed the aftermath of the battle that had encompassed the bridge their mission revolved around. His fight had been extremely difficult, one he hadn't been sure he was going to win. Zabuza was truly a demon to be able to survive being impaled with so many weapons and still finding the strength to kill Gato after their grueling fight. What interested the cyclops more than his fight with Zabuza was the battle his genin had against Zabuza's assistant, who had displayed the ability to utilize Hyouton techniques. Sakura was still crying over Sasuke, who had just woken up after the fake hunter-nin had neutralized him. Sasuke surely had done well and reportedly received the worst of his injuries protecting Naruto, a deed of which Kakashi couldn't help but be proud.

Protecting Naruto hadn't been in vain as the orange-clad prankster had managed to defeat the ice ninja. Kakashi had initially been terrified that the seal had broken and the Kyuubi was loose, but once he realized the biju was not about to rampage, he was exponentially less worried. He had heard of jinchuurinki being able to draw upon their demon's chakra, so such an ability was not unusual for Naruto to display, especially after he had believe Sasuke to be dead. The emotional trauma of believing Sasuke to be dead in his arms would likely affect Naruto for days or weeks to come.

Even more interesting than the Kyuubi's chakra was the weapon Kakashi noticed on his blonde genin. An ornate katana with a deep crimson sheath was strapped to Naruto's back and the boy seemed completely at ease with the presence of the deadly weapon. Kakashi didn't have time to question Naruto about its appearance, but he certainly would make time later to figure out exactly how his orphaned student had pulled a highly expensive-seeming katana out of thin air. He doubted the Kyuubi was involved, but if it was, he would have to ascertain the katana wouldn't affect Naruto's mind.

* * *

Naruto sat in the room Tsunami had offered to him when his team had settled into her home. She had also offered it to Sasuke, who lay on the bed next to him motionless. Naruto couldn't believe how relieved he was when it was revealed Haku had not killed Sasuke but instead had put him in a state of near death, much like he had with Zabuza. He didn't think he'd ever be able to get rid of the image of Kakashi's arm impaled through Haku's chest as the ice ninja protected his precious person.

At least Gato had been defeated in the end. He and his team were safe, and they would be leaving Wave in a couple of days once Tazuna finished building the bridge. Naruto drew his sword - Jikogisei, he reminded himself - and stared at the blade of his newly discovered katana. He had yet to kill anyone with this blade or even to draw blood, but he knew the time would come. The life of a ninja insisted he would harm another at one point or another, and this weapon of his seemed to be his best bet in causing harm to his enemies.

_But I won't just be a weapon,_ thought Naruto. _I'll be a protector, and I'll make sure that no matter what, no one hurts my precious people!_

* * *

**Author's Note:** And that will conclude the first chapter. I apologize if the length is too short; as I said, this is my first true story, so I am unfamiliar with how long or short the chapters will be. A couple of things I'd like to touch upon for those reading this:

I will not be writing scenes that do not differ from canon. Why? Well, if you read/watch Naruto, you already know what has happened and don't need me to write it all over for you. Not to mention I would be extremely uninspired writing something my readers already know and I already know. So if I skip a scene or two, you can assume it is the same as canon for now. As the story progresses, it will diverge more and more from the canon plot, so instances where I would skip over a canon scene will grow fewer and fewer.

I'm sure plenty of people have done this before. Naruto gets a zanpakuto, wrecks havoc, so on and so forth. What I intend to do differently is both in how the zanpakuto will work and how the existence of zanpakuto in the Naruto universe will function. There will be no appearances of characters from the Bleach universe, although some of their powers may be borrowed/hinted at. That is a long ways away, though.

Anyways, please review and let me know what you thought. Was it too long? Too short? Boring? Horrible grammar or spelling? I would love to hear any constructive criticism you people can provide. If you are going to flame, feel free. Just don't expect me to take your opinion under consideration if you do.

_Adios!_


	2. Curiosity Killed the Kitsune

**Author's** **Note: **Here's the next chapter of No Matter the Cost! I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

No Matter the Cost

Chapter 2: Curiosity Killed the Kitsune

It had been a long couple of days, but the bridge connecting Wave to the mainland was finally completed, and with its completion came the end of the mission for the Konoha shinobi. The ninja had gathered in front of the bridge Gato had attempted to destroy to say goodbye to the people of Wave. The bridge truly looked its part as the new hope for the people of Wave with its

Naruto said his goodbye to Inari, insisting he was not crying as hot tears poured down his cheeks. Inari was also crying and tried to deny his own tears as fervently as Naruto was. The younger boy had taken to viewing Naruto as the hero of their country after seeing the blonde save him and his mother. The sudden appearance of a katana on Naruto's back did not invoke any confusion or worry in the boy but instead served to solidify the boy's awe of the blonde ninja.

The team of shinobi appeared to be different to the villagers than when they first arrived in the town. Instead of constantly bickering and fighting, a level of respect seemed to have developed between the ninja that could only come from fighting for each other and risking their lives for one another. The two boys in particular stood tall, the strength they gained evident in their posture. Their eyes reflected the hardships they had endured in the mission, both physical and mental.

The villagers had changed as well. No longer did they cow their heads and avert their eyes in fear. Instead, they held their heads high, back straight, and looked proud to have helped in driving off Gato's bandit forces. Their eyes looked straight out towards the horizon, symbolizing how they no longer focused on the pain of the present but instead had managed to look towards the bright future.

The ninja waved their final goodbyes as they turned and began their trek to their home. The villagers watched them leave before slowly dissipating, heading to take advantage of their improved lives. Three people stood watching the team of four who had forever changed the country until they could no longer see them. Inari in particular focused on the bright yellow hair of the boy he had come to view as his hero.

"That boy changed Inari's heart, and Inari changed the heart of these people. He gave us this bridge to inspire us towards hope and courage," Tazuna said as they watched the ninja fade over the horizon. "Speaking of the bridge, we need a name for it." Tazuna smiled warmly. "And I think I know a great name for the bridge."

Inari perked up. "Oh? What is it?" he questioned, interest gleaming in his eyes.

"The Great Naruto Bridge!"

* * *

The walk back to Konoha was made easier due to the bridge, but it would still take quite a while for Team 7. It probably would feel shorter if the dynamic of the team wasn't so predictable.

"Sasuke, would you maybe want to go on a date when we get back to Konoha?"

"No."

"Hey Sakura, how about you go on a date with me instead!"

"Shut up Naruto!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as his fellow male teammate was beaten senseless by his female teammate. _Idiot... _The Uchiha could not understand how Naruto had managed to defeat their masked opponent who had defeated Sasuke even when he had awoken the Sharingan yet was being destroyed by the girl who had sat quivering on the side of all the battles. Speaking of which... The avenger pushed chakra into his eyes and felt his vision brighten. He felt as if he could see every leaf in the trees on the sides of the path they were walking on when he had his Sharingan active.

_Yet it wasn't enough..._ thought the moody boy. Letting the chakra fade from his eyes, he glanced over at the orange-clad member of their team who had been dropped by Sakura after being thoroughly abused. _Somehow, he managed to pull out a victory against that ninja. How did he do it?_ Sasuke wondered. Perhaps... His eyes raised from Naruto to the sword hilt protruding over his shoulder.

_Where did he get that? _Kakashi did not seem to care about the sword, buried in his orange book as they walked and giggling as he read. If not for the examples of the jounin's battle prowess, Sasuke would have a difficult time accepting the man was an elite ninja of their village. Apparently, the man's curiosity was not a factor in him being so powerful since he had yet to glance at Naruto's new accessory during their walk. _That I've seen, at least,_ Sasuke amended. It wouldn't be difficult for the jounin to sneak a look while none of his genin were looking, Sasuke would imagine.

Feeling his curiosity overwhelming him, the onyx-eyed boy finally spoke up. "Dobe, where'd you find that katana?"

The boy in question look over at the last Uchiha. Squinting, Naruto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I've always had this katana, Sasuke. Did it take your Sharingan for you to notice it?" With that, the blonde prankster turned away and continued walking, leaving a bewildered and angered Sasuke alone with his thoughts.

_What the hell kind of answer was that?_ Sasuke thought as he seethed in silence. _He just blew off the question. Hell, I didn't even know Naruto was capable of thinking of a complex thought like that._ Sasuke would have simply continued to question the prankster if the jab at his Sharingan hadn't caught him off-guard. He took quite a bit of pride in having unlocked his doujutsu, and having said eye technique be made fun of was unsettling enough for Sasuke to stop his line of inquiry.

The Uchiha continued to fume as he walked along with his team. _Naruto blowing me off like that can only mean one thing: that sword of his is important._ Sasuke stopped in his thoughts momentarily at the thought of it. The dobe? Having something important? Nonsense. Once upon a time, Sasuke would have been convinced Naruto was incapable of even being associated with importance beyond being teammates with the last Uchiha.

Yet facts clearly dictated there was more than met the eye with Naruto. Even without the appearance of an odd and seemingly highly expensive katana in Naruto's possession, the mere concept that the prankster had defeated an opponent who had bested Sasuke, the last Uchiha, prodigy of Konoha, indicated the blue-eyed blonde was more than Sasuke had realized.

* * *

Sakura frowned as Sasuke continued to brood. She had felt so certain that their success in the mission would be the turning point where Sasuke would come out of his emotional shell. She had imagined him asking her to eat somewhere, her accepting, the two of them getting closer and closer. As time went on, they would become more intimate with one another until eventually... Sakura let out a small giggle, drawing a suspicious glance from Sasuke that Sakura did not see.

Sadly for the pink-haired member of Team 7, none of her daydreams had bled over into reality as of now. Sasuke had immediately rebuffed her advance without a single hint he was becoming less withdrawn. Naruto had attempted to swoop in and score a date with her himself, an attempt she had immediately derailed with physical encouragement. Not that the violence would stop anything. Naruto's head must have been as dense as a brick not to understand the message Sakura was sending him with every blow.

Even Naruto's stupidity was being called into question when Sasuke had questioned him about his newly found katana. Sakura had been wondering as well in the back of her mind where an orphan like Naruto had acquired such an ornate weapon, but such ponderings were ignored in favor of trying to strike up a conversation with the last Uchiha. Now that the onyx-eyed boy had brought it up, Sakura had to admit to her own curiosity growing as well.

What she did not expect was for Naruto to rebuff Sasuke's question in such a calm and effective manner. She expected Sasuke to have a retort ready for the dobe, as he always did, but the avenger lapsed into silence again, although the anger was evident in his eyes. Witnessing the change in dynamic between the two younger males of her team served to increase her uncertainty in their team.

She had started off in Team 7 being sure of her abilities as a kunoichi. She had graduated top of her class in the academic portion, only being surpassed by Sasuke in the overall standings. Being paired with the dobe of their graduation class only increased her confidence that her own abilities would shine in comparison to his. Once they had actually begun to demonstrate their skills, however, her expectations were quickly shattered.

Instead of impressing Sasuke in the bell test, she had been caught in a simple genjutsu after not even attempting to obtain one of the bells. She had barely done any better than Naruto, although she luckily avoided being tied to the tree stump. Her confidence had taken a downturn after that, but she managed to maintain a positive outlook. When they had received their C-rank mission, she had been fairly excited, wanting to prove to Sasuke she could be the kunoichi he was surely waiting for.

The first major encounter in their travel, the attack by the Demon Brothers, she had contributed... nothing. She had essentially stood in front of Tazuna and hoped their assailants would trip over their own feet. Luckily, Kakashi had been there to ensure their client's safety. She managed to rationalize her own lack of contribution by belittling Naruto for being injured. She convinced herself the next fight would be where she would really shine.

When Zabuza had captured Kakashi, she was so terrified of the missing-nin she could barely move. Sasuke, showing what a powerful ninja he was, helped free Kakashi from his watery prison, but without the assistance from Naruto, the deadlast, Sasuke very likely would not have succeeded, leaving Zabuza time to kill Kakashi then take his time in hunting down and killing the rest of Team 7 and their client.

Even ignoring her failure to contribute in that fight, she did just as little in the next fight. The fake hunter-nin had isolated Sasuke, and Naruto, while being boneheaded in charging right into the center of the mirrors, had at least demonstrated courage in doing so. Meanwhile, Sakura could say she had cried over what she had originally thought to be Sasuke's dead body but instead turned out to be him in a comatose state.

Due to all of these failures to help the team succeed, you could say Sakura's self-esteem was at a considerable low. Even more so since she had isolated herself from her friends in her attempts to win over Sasuke's heart. It was with this mindset that, hoping to show she could be more persuasive than the gruff Uchiha, she turned to Naruto.

"Naruto," she began, smiling sweetly, "Could you please tell me where you found that wonderful sword of yours?" She even fluttered her eyelashes, a tactic she normally reserved for the reserved Uchiha.

The orange-clad boy looked over at her in surprise, something that made Sakura feel a little self-conscious. _Why is he so surprised that I'm being nice to him?_ she wondered. She quickly cast aside her doubts as Naruto replied._  
_

"Um, Sakura-chan, I'd love to tell you, but it's kind of a secret." The boy scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, but looking at his tensed body and tightened skin around his eyes betrayed his fear of the pink-haired girl's reaction to withholding information from her.

Sakura kept trying. "Please, Naruto?" she asked again, smiling even wider, although the expression had grown almost imperceptibly strained. _Why won't he tell me?_ she wondered. _Half of the time I feel like he'd jump off of a bridge for me._

"Sorry Sakura-chan," was the reply from the blonde prankster.

Sakura frowned. That had not gone as she had hoped. She turned to Sasuke and began to whisper lightly. "Naruto can be so difficult sometimes, can't he?" The avenger grunted, giving her no real answer. The team fell into silence as their fairly dysfunctional relationships began to show. Despite the two boys of the team working together against Zabuza and Haku, the respect they had obtained for one another only seemed to apply during life and death situations; the rest of the time Naruto treated Sasuke like his enemy, and Sasuke acted like Naruto was a fly on the wall to be ignored.

Sakura's relationship between them wasn't very good either. The girl had to admit she had virtually no semblance of a healthy relationship with Naruto since most of their interactions ended with her physically hurting him for trying to get to know her better. The blonde didn't even seem to care about the abuse his female teammate was inflicting upon him, although with some of the ways he acted towards her, she was beginning to wonder if he was simply better at hiding his pain from her actions than she thought.

Sakura knew her relationship with her other teammate wasn't very solid either; however, she convinced herself that was all about to change. Sasuke is just shy, she thought. He doesn't like talking in front of Naruto, she reasoned. But some part of her realized he didn't seem interested in her or anyone else until it was time for a battle. Even in a battle situation, he was only concerned with them so that he wouldn't get held back by their lack of skills.

Their sensei was better, although arguably so. His impressive feats in battle meant that his skill was certainly not in question any longer. What was instead in question was his skill as a teacher. Admittedly, they weren't expecting to run into such skilled opponents on their first C-rank mission, but he hadn't trained them in the slightest other than the tree walking that was done more as emergency training so that they could survive the upcoming battles.

Sakura couldn't help but disapprove above all their sensei's attitude. He could certainly get his act together when the time called for it, but the rest of the time, he was lazy, chronically tardy, and obsessed with pornography. Seriously, she rarely saw him outside of battle without his face buried in his orange book, hearing perverted giggles coming out from behind the pages.

And that mask. What in the world was their sensei hiding underneath that mysterious mask? Sakura just shook her head. They were ninja. Their sanity (or lack thereof) wouldn't interfere with doing their job.

* * *

Arriving back in Konoha, the team couldn't help but let a sigh of relief slip through their lips. Their mission had been very stressful. Hell, even a team of experienced Chunins would have had difficulties with their C turned A-rank mission. The worst part was that the danger had continuously escalated. First, they believed they would merely fend off a couple bandits at worst. That expectation was shattered when two chunin-level ninja attacked them viciously.

Even worse than that was when they encountered Zabuza, a jounin-level missing-nin strong enough to capture Kakashi. Once they thought he had been beaten, they realized he was merely knocked unconscious by his accomplice, who was a powerful ninja as well. It was understandable that even with their mission completed, they were slightly paranoid of a Sannin or Kage jumping out from the bushes to confront them.

After making their way through the gates, Kakashi turned around from his position at the head of their team and looked at them with his lone visible eye. "I will report to the Hokage about our mission. We will be meeting tomorrow on the bridge at [ ] to resume our normal missions." With that, the jounin turned and began to walk away.

Sasuke immediately began to walk away, thoughts of training clearly on his mind from the way he clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes, looking as if he was about to activate his Sharingan just to express his frustration to the fullest. Before he could fully depart, however, he was interrupted.

"How about we get some food together, Sasuke-kun?" called out the girl of the team, a sweet smile on her face as she attempted, for the millionth time, to secure a date with her crush. Said crush turned to look at Sakura, feeling his frustration with the mission to Wave boil over. He curled his lip at Sakura in disgust, no longer able to hide his disdain from his face.

"No. I do not want to go on a date with you. I have no intention of wasting my time with a fangirl when I could be training and getting stronger." Sasuke's voice was laced with venom and contempt as he spoke. Not even bothering to wait for a response, the dark-haired boy exited the area without prompting.

The girl who had just been verbally torn to shreds stood where she had stopped to be assaulted by Sasuke's tirade. Her mood dropped even further as his words truly sunk in. Attempting desperately to raise her spirits, Sakura turned to Naruto, who had just began to leave, his back mostly turned from Sakura.

"Would you..." she began, almost stopping with how crazy her situation had become. "Would you like to get some food, Naruto?" She attempted to smile at him, but the sadness in her eyes completely ruined any attempt to fake happiness.

The blonde paused, not turning around to face the girl he had been so infatuated with in the Academy. "I..." he began, almost stopping from how inevitable this whole situation now seemed to be. "I'm not feeling really hungry right now, Sakura. Perhaps another time," he concluded lamely, aware of how flimsy and obvious his excuse was.

The jinchuurinki wasn't sure why he rejected Sakura. He wasn't even sure why or when he had dropped the -chan from her name. This was the girl he had been pining over for many years now, who he had thought to be the love of his life, and he just couldn't bring himself to accept the offer of a date he had wanted for most of his Academy years. Maybe it was the way she had turned to him as her last resort once her attempt to spend time with Sasuke had crashed and burned.

Or maybe he was just realizing he truly did not enjoy the person he had realized Sakura to be.

This feeling of his had only begun to stir during the bell test when it had become obvious she cared little for him. It had been dampened when she had attempted to warn him about Kakashi's... technique. He only used that description for lack of a better word. His feelings continued to consolidate with the mission to Wave as she proved to be quite ineffective in a combat situation yet had continuously berated him for being useless. Her blatant attempts to understand how he had obtained his new katana for Sasuke and her subsequent insult was yet another blow to Naruto as his opinion of Sakura shifted slowly but surely.

Sakura just looked at Naruto with a stricken look on her face as he slowly walked away from her. The girl bowed her head once he had left her field of vision, tears welling up in her eyes but not reaching her face.

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, as he finished his report on the mission to Wave. It was quite a lengthy report considering how they had started off with a C-rank escort mission and had ended with an A-rank mission that involved fighting a previous member of the Seven Swordsman, discovering possibly the last survivor from a powerful bloodline, and saving a country from a greedy businessman with no qualms about taking people's lives and livelihoods.

With all that said, it was understandable the Hokage decided to take a minute to absorb and process the information he had received from the Copycat Ninja.

"Well, I suppose most of that is fairly self-explanatory," began the wizened man. "My main concern at this moment, however, is Naruto and how he drew upon the chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

The scarecrow nodded. "From what I could sense during my battle, the seal remains intact," Kakashi offered. "It is certainly not unheard of for a jinchuurinki to draw upon the chakra of their bijuu."

"Certainly, that is true," agreed the old man. "We must be cautious in matters regarding the Kyuubi, however. If the seal is breaking down, we will be able to act much more efficiently the sooner we know." Hiruzen furrowed his brow in thought. "I will contact Jiraiya soon so that he can examine the seal," he decided. "While my student is not as adept with fuuinjutsu as the Fourth was, he should be able to ascertain the state of the seal and determine whether or not action will need to be taken."

The Hokage clasped his hands in front of him, clearly deep in thought. "What is more immediately pressing is the appearance of this katana you have mentioned." Hiruzen's voice and expression was grave. "Do you have any idea where he could have obtained the katana?"

The jounin sensei shook his head. "None of the villagers would have been holding such a katana except as a family heirloom, and to give it to Naruto specifically would exceed the boundaries of their gratitude, especially considering their poor financial state; furthermore, neither Zabuza nor Haku would have had such a katana from my experiences and knowledge about them. Zabuza would not have liked using such a slim weapon or even possessing one when he has his Kubikiri Bouchou to use instead and as such would likely spread a similar attitude to his protege, Haku."

The Fire Shadow nodded in agreement with Kakashi's assessment. "This leaves the question of how he obtained this katana open to inquiry," the man said, looking at the silver-haired jounin with the expectant eyes of a military leader.

"I suppose he would be open to a few questions as long as I keep my intentions fairly discrete," mused the jounin in response to the Hokage's implications. "I wouldn't be surprised if he said he had picked the sword off of the grounds of an abandoned clan grounds and had inherited an ancient curse," Kakashi continued, the upward curve of his visible eye indicating his amusement at the thought.

"I would not be so quick to mark Naruto off as a fool, Kakashi," was the response. Hiruzen had a steely look on his face, but it was clear he was not reprimanding the jounin. He was merely telling him not to underestimate the surprising blonde like so many before him had.

Kakashi blinked once, then chuckled. "It does make sense that the boy who thought of the plan to free me from Zabuza's trap is more intelligent than the loudmouthed idiot most people see."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "You may be rather surprised to see how clever Naruto can be given the right incentive," suggested the Hokage, a twinkle in his eyes betraying his amusement in baiting the curiosity of the feared Copycat Ninja. The look of interest on Kakashi's face (at least, the little he could see that was not concealed by the mask) indicated he was as skilled in politics as ever.

* * *

Team 7 had gathered once again to resume their schedule of D-rank missions for the village. The genin did not complain; the last time they had, their mission had degenerated into a mess they did not wish to experience again. There was still a problem with going back to the previous arrangement for Team 7, however...

"Kakashi-sensei is late! Again!" complained the orange-clad prankster of the team in a very loud voice. "This is so boring!"

Surprisingly, there was no response other than a disdainful snort from Sasuke. This came as quite a surprise to Naruto as he had fully expected Sakura to berate him for being too loud and obnoxious. The jinchuurinki covertly glanced over at his female teammate only to see her looking firmly at the ground withdrawn from the world. Naruto frowned at the sight of the depressed genin. While he knew she had been hurt by Sasuke's words before, he hadn't thought it would cut her as deeply as it appeared they did. She had been rejected before but not in such a callous and direct manner from what Naruto could figure.

The prankster knew he wasn't the smartest in his graduating class. Shikamaru would forever and always be able to run mental circles around him whenever the lazy ninja actually decided to put in the effort, and Sakura was very intelligent as well when she wasn't fawning mindlessly over the last Uchiha. Despite not being as smart as other people, Naruto was not quite as dumb as most people made him out to be. He actually possessed a very solid ability to formulate strategies in the midst of battle as he demonstrated in the first fight with Zabuza. If not for his little trick with the shuriken (which was rather clever if he did say so himself), Naruto and Sasuke would have simply thrown themselves at the former Mist ninja until they dropped.

Regardless, the blonde was able to determine that their teamwork was very likely to suffer for some time. Sakura had always been the link between Sasuke and Naruto that stopped their relationship from simply being the two of them trading insults continuously. Without her having a significant presence to moderate the two of them, Team 7 would not be as effective as they would be with her help.

Naruto shook his head ridding himself of the thoughts. There was nothing he could really do to help her at the moment, although he'd have to keep his eyes open for such an opportunity to arise. Stretching his arms absentmindedly, Naruto began to bounce on his heels in an attempt to burn off some of his boundless energy. Waiting three hours for Kakashi to show up was quite tedious, and for someone like Naruto who constantly wanted to move and train and talk and _be active_, the wait could be unbearable at times.

As the genin tried to spend his excess energy, the shifting of the new addition to his ninja arsenal, his katana, drew his attention. _Her name is Jikogisei_, he reminded himself. Naruto stopped his hyperactive activity and drew said katana, gazing upon his reflection on the polished blade. He felt immensely proud in owning such an ornate weapon like Jikogisei, but he felt a tint of shame when he realized he knew nothing about how to use a sword. Naruto began to move the blade slowly through the air trying to get a feel for the weapon. As he did, he could feel Sasuke's eyes watching him, but he ignored the boy._  
_

Gradually as the time passed, Naruto could feel his movements becoming sharper and more fluid. While he was still a long ways away from being a master swordsman, he felt as if he was made specifically to use this sword. _Not surprising considering what Jikogisei told me about herself,_ the blonde thought. If Jikogisei was a part of his soul, it made sense using the sword would come naturally to him. The blonde continued to practice with his sword, continuously marveling at how quickly he could feel his body becoming accustomed to his Zanpakuto.

Naruto was still uncertain why Jikogisei had called herself a Zanpakuto. _Soul Cutting Sword..._ thought the jinchuurinki absently. Naruto hoped the name indicated how easily the sword would be able to cut through other people's souls and not his own. While he was somewhat anxious about the thought of killing another human being, he preferred doing so far more than being killed himself.

The boy contemplated his fight with Haku. He could only vaguely remember how the fight had gone, but once the ice ninja's mask had fallen off of his face, his memory became much more accurate. Why his recollections were so blurry was something Naruto could only guess at, but he felt certain in saying it was not related to his Zanpakuto. He vividly remembered invoking Jikogisei's name and the crescent-shaped attack that had come shortly after, so he speculated the power that had filled his veins was not related as it had made his memory rather poor when he had been using it. The strength he had obtained from the power had been both awe-inspiring and utterly terrifying.

If not for having witnessed Kakashi in action against Zabuza, the concept of such power like the one he had utilized to defeat Haku would have been even more overwhelming to Naruto. While he was still in awe of his prowess defeating Haku (what little he could remember, at least), he felt much more afraid of the power than impressed by it. The reason being one of his memories of him using this power involved some very morbid and bloodthirsty thoughts.

As the blonde swung his sword, still getting a feel for the way his new weapon moved through the air, he continued to ponder

The sun-kissed boy was startled out of his musings and practice by the appearance of their silver-haired sensei. The man gestured wordlessly towards the Hokage's tower to pick up their newest mission. Naruto smoothly returned Jikogisei to her sheath, noticing the burn in the muscles of his arms. _I must have been doing that for longer than I had noticed,_ realized the blonde as he fell into line with the rest of his team in their walk to receive their mission.

The team received yet another tedious D-rank mission; this one comprised of removing weeds from the garden of a villager. Naruto had received a dirty look from the man who had requested the mission, but the presence of Kakashi, one of Konoha's most powerful ninja, deterred the villager from making any complaints at the moment. After the team had completed the tasks set out to them (or rather, the team minus Kakashi, who had spent the mission reading from his orange book), the team returned to the Hokage's tower and received their payment._  
_

As was the norm for Team 7, they went their own separate ways after no longer being needed by the team. Naruto, however, did not walk very far before his silver-haired sensei appeared walking alongside him.

"So Naruto, quite the fun mission we just had, right?" asked the jounin to begin the conversation, the curve along his visible eye belying his amusement at his Naruto's exasperation towards the D-rank missions.

"Those don't even count as missions, Kakashi-sensei," complained the boy. "They barely even count as chores!"

"Now, now, while you might not realize it, D-rank missions are quite important to the village," responded the scarecrow. "They provided a nice income to both our village and to cute little genin like you." Kakashi finished his sentence with a short little ruffling of Naruto's hair, something the boy did not appreciate from the irritated twitch in the boy's eye. Oh well. The only reason Kakashi even considered taking on a genin team was for entertainment purposes, and he would be damned if he didn't tease the team he had to hell and back during their off time.

Despite his amusement with the orange-clad genin's actions, he had initiated this conversation for a reason, although he would go about finding out what he wanted in a more roundabout manner. "I'm surprised you haven't blown a fuse with having to do all of these D-rank missions," Kakashi offered.

Naruto squinted as they continued to walk towards what Kakashi realized was likely Ichiraku Ramen. The boy could truly have a one-track mind at times. "Well, these missions do suck, " Naruto admitted. "Like a lot. Like holy crap they suck so much I just want to imprison every cat I see so that it can't be another mission for us," rambled the blonde. The masked jounin simply listened, amused at the boy's more and more apparent irritation. "But I do get to train quite a bit, so it's not all that bad."

"Oh? What have you been training lately?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi with suspicion in his gaze. Normally, he'd love to go off about his awesome sword and how great it had been feeling and how cool he must look when he was using it; however, he felt uncomfortable talking about his katana to others after Sasuke and Sakura had so obviously tried to figure out what it was exactly and how he had obtained the elegant sword. Not knowing the answers only served to fuel Naruto's evasiveness when it came to questions asked of him, a habit picked up from the Academy.

His tendency to evade would often times be offset by the person he was talking to being someone he could trust. The Hokage would be an example of this since Naruto always felt more open and honest around the old man. The jinchuurinki felt as if he could trust Kakashi; after all, the man was a jounin of Konohagakure as well as his sensei and team leader. To counter that feeling, the boy could remember Mizuki being a chunin of Konohagakure as well as his teacher in the Academy, so he felt somewhat justified in being cautious with his thoughts.

He couldn't spend the rest of his life not trusting authority, though. While there were certainly some bad people that managed to obtain positions of power, there were also people like the Sandaime Hokage who used their power for the good of others. With that in mind, Naruto decided to talk to Kakashi about his sword. Not fully, since he still wasn't 100% sure if the scarecrow was trustworthy, but he wouldn't stonewall the jounin.

"Well, I've been training a little bit with Jikogisei back here," replied the jinchuurinki, patting the sword on his back as he smiled.

Kakashi blinked. "You already named your sword?"

Naruto shook his head in response. "I didn't choose her name, Jikogisei told me her name herself," was the reply he gave to the scarecrow.

_His sword talked to him? His sword told him its name? _While Kakashi did not understand what Naruto was saying, he hid his confusion with the expertise of a seasoned jounin.

Having a mask and headband that covered 75% of his face certainly helped.

The silver-haired jounin clasped his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," said the man before vanishing with Shunshin no Jutsu.

Naruto felt confused about the sudden departure but shrugged it off. "And people call me weird," he muttered under his breath before grinning to himself. He _was _weird. Most people didn't realize quite how much, though. The jinchuurinki continued walking, his path ending at his favorite ramen stand. "Oi, Teuchi-ojisan!" he yelled out boisterously. "Three bowls of miso ramen!"

The owner of Ichiraku Ramen poked his head out of his stand, a grin on his face. "Good to see you again, Naruto!" replied the man. "Where was my #1 customer for the last several days?"

Naruto rubbed his nose as he returned the grin, taking a seat. "I had a pretty important mission to complete!" he explained, his voice exuding confidence. Teuchi smiled at the blonde as he returned to cooking the ramen.

"What kind of mission?" asked the ramen chef's daughter Ayame, who was assisting her father with the stand.

The blonde jinchuurinki's grin widened if that was even possible, and the boy opened his mouth before he was interrupted.

"Oy, Naruto, could you keep it down a little?"

Aforementioned ninja turned his head and looked down the stand to see a spiky bundle of hair on top of a head that was currently resting on the counter. "Shikamaru?" questioned the blonde. He hadn't noticed him because of how relaxed the boy's posture was.

"Yes, now could you please talk a bit quieter?" pleaded the lazy genin.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "What are you doing here?" he asked, lowering his voice to just above a whisper.

Shikamaru gave a sigh of relief as he registered the decreased volume. "My team ate here after we finished our mission," explained the boy.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "And you're here because...?" questioned the blonde.

"I..." began the Nara. "...fell asleep."

After a moment's pause, Naruto broke out into a grin. "How long were you sleeping?" asked the jinchuurinki.

"What time is it?" was the response.

"6 o' clock," offered Teuchi, serving Naruto his requested ramen.

Shikamaru sighed resignedly. "It's been an hour and a half."

A muffled laughter could be heard from the orange-clad boy. The lazier of the two genin looked over at his energetic counterpart in curiosity, wondering what was muffling Naruto's amusement, only to see his shoulders shaking up and down in mirth as he veritably inhaled the ramen he had been served. "How the hell are you even breathing while you eat? I don't think that's physically possible," wondered the young Nara, watching Naruto with confusion.

The blonde in question gulped audibly as he finished his first bowl. "How the hell did you fall asleep at a ramen stand for an hour and a half?" Naruto questioned, ignoring Shikamaru's bewilderment at his physiological paradox. The lazy genin clearly had not been enlightened about the divine power of ramen.

Shikamaru sighed. It seemed to be his favorite thing to do other than sleep. "Well, after I eat, I tend to be tired, and this stand has a very relaxing atmosphere. Next thing I knew, your banshee's voice woke me up."

Naruto cringed at Shikamaru's description of the volume of his voice as he devoured yet another bowl of ramen. The boy swallowed and spoke up in his defense. "Not everyone is as lazy as you are, Shikamaru," he retorted, a teasing grin on his face. The boy grunted in response.

"Their loss, I suppose." The Nara returned his head to the counter of the ramen attempting to submerge himself in slumber yet again.

"Oi! If you want to sleep, do it at your house, not at my ramen stand!"

Naruto's muffled laughter made a return as Shikamaru regretfully lifted himself from the ramen stand and began to trudge away.

* * *

The sound of rushing fire right next to you would cause a sane person to fear for their safety. Of course, ninjas are anything but sane, and they would rarely fear the fire they themselves created.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

The sound of flames repeated itself after the ninjutsu's name was declared to the empty Uchiha district. A panting, dark-haired boy stood in front of a set of three training posts. All of the posts bore scorch marks, the middle one having a small flame growing on the top side, and scorch marks were on the ground around the wooden training structures as well, indicating the lack of mastery of the fire technique. The last loyal Uchiha walked over to the post and quickly patted out the fire before it could grow, having learned long ago how to deal with fires before they spread. A frown was on Sasuke's face, and while that by itself was not uncommon, the reason he was frowning was not a commonplace reason for the Uchiha to brood.

Uzumaki Naruto. His dead-last teammate, orange-wearing loud-mouthed near-failure of a ninja. Sasuke had always been certain that, no matter how weak he felt, he could compare himself to the blonde and assuage his pride through the comparison. However, this had recently become more difficult to do due to the shortest of Team 7 acquiring an incredibly ornate katana. Where he could have obtained such a weapon, Sasuke had no idea, but just possession of the item irked the avenger.

He, the last of the proud clan of Uchiha, had virtually nothing to show from his clan. The best he could find were scrolls on fire ninjutsus that he had slowly been teaching himself, but the higher level techniques the clan had utilized in its glory days were lost to him. The only physical memento he had left were his shirts with the fan on the back, the symbol of the Uchiha. Despite his clan's prestigious past, he had nothing, but the clan-less Naruto had managed to acquire a very expensive-looking weapon like the katana on his back.

Even more irritating was the orange-clad genin's refusal to discuss the origins of his sword. Sasuke had asked where he had obtained the weapon in what he thought was a very clear and precise way. Admittedly, looking back on it, the Uchiha realized he used the same tone of voice and choice of words whenever the two genin butted heads. It wasn't really his fault, though. He called him the dead-last, yes, but that wasn't an insult. It was merely stating fact: Naruto had been ranked last in their class. Sure his tone of voice was insulting, but his tone of voice was always insulting. His voice varied between the wide ranges of insulting and uncaring, so how was he the one to blame?

Sasuke told himself all of this, but he couldn't get rid of the nagging thought that he really could have been a bit more diplomatic if he wanted to know so badly. _But why do I want to know?_ wondered the Uchiha. _Why do I care? Nothing the dead-last could tell me would make me stronger so that I can beat _him,_ so it doesn't really matter in the end... right?_ Despite his attempts to convince himself to shake off his curiosity, the questions remained in his mind. How did a clanless orphan as tactless and obnoxious as Naruto obtain such an elaborate and ornate katana?

The Uchiha growled to himself as he shook off his traitorous thoughts yet again and engaged himself in training once again.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

* * *

Another day of D-rank missions was a very accurate summary for Team 7's day. Hunting for the lost cat, fixing fences, hunting for the lost cat, painting a house, opening the stalls of food vendors, hunting for the lost cat, hunting for the lo-did this thing ever stay where it was supposed to?

Naruto huffed in irritation as the team left the Hokage after returning the lost cat to its owner after was seemed to be the millionth time. "I mean, I get why that cat hates its owner so much," began the jinchuurinki, thinking of the near-abuse the owner affectionately inflicted onto her pet, "But does it have to get caught running away? Couldn't it sneak away so that we don't ever get a mission to find that goddamn cat again?" The irritation had become very apparent in Naruto's voice as he continued to voice his thoughts. Leaving his team behind as they split, all heading different directions, Naruto proceeded to grumble lightly to himself about the unfairness of his situation.

He was a ninja! A silent killer, a valiant protector! Hell, he felt more dangerous than ever as he felt his skill with Jikogisei increasing with ever morning practice he had before their missions for the day. Naruto had to admit few probably realized he had been experiencing a surprisingly fast growth in his skill with his zanpakuto except Sasuke and Sakura, both of whom would likely dismiss him out of hand for being the dead-last of their class. Despite that, he felt he and his teammates deserved better missions than the D-rank ones they had received.

He actually felt confident in saying Sasuke was likely improving as well. He didn't see anything personally, but he could hear signs that the Uchiha had followed Naruto's trend and had begun training as they waited for Kakashi to arrive three hours late as was the norm. He had even caught glimpses of Sakura using some ninja wires as he trained with Jikogisei, which may not have seemed monumental to others, but in Naruto's mind, any time spent not ogling Sasuke when she had the chance was an improvement indeed.

The main thing stopping him from protesting when they picked up yet another D-rank mission was the thought of what had happened the last time they had received a C-rank mission. The sun-kissed blonde shivered as images of Sasuke's needle-riddled body flashed in his mind as well as Haku lying on the ground of the bridge, a gaping hole in his chest letting his blood drain out. Naruto did not want to risk some unknown, powerful ninja from attacking them if they left the village on another C-rank mission.

"Hey! Boss!"

Naruto nearly stumbled over his own feet as he was shook out of his rather morbid thoughts by a trio of small children running up to him, the foremost of which he recognized.

"Hey Konohamaru," responded the blonde, a smile jumping onto his face. Despite the somewhat annoying attitude the academy student held towards him, Naruto couldn't help but feel invigorated by the younger child's infectious enthusiasm.

"You haven't played Ninja with us yet!" complained the Hokage's grandson, his two companions Moegi and Udon nodded fervently in agreement. "You said you'd play with us!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, you know, I've been pretty busy lately..." _being an actual ninja_, the jinchuurinki thought but did not say. The trio of students did not accept his excuse.

"Then you have to play with us now!" they insisted. "After all, you didn't look too busy with how you were spacing out, Boss," added Konohamaru mockingly.

A tick mark appeared over Naruto's head. "Oi! I'll let you know I was thinking about some very serious stuff!" insisted the blonde.

Konohamaru scoffed. "No offense Boss, but if you did serious thinking, we'd be able to see the smoke coming from your brain," he retorted. The other children tried to hold back their laughter, but the giggles that slipped past betrayed their amusement.

Naruto growled playfully. "You wanna play Ninja? Fine! Then I'm a ferocious enemy ninja about to get you all!" Naruto lunged at the Hokage's grandson only for him and his fellow students to run away as fast as they could.

Konohamaru turned a corner to escape from the blonde ninja's wrath, his compatriots close behind, when he ran into a large black wall. Falling onto his backside, the student rubbed his head and looked up only to realize the wall was bending down to grab him. The wall was actually an older boy wearing a black outfit with what looked to be cat ears on the hood that was pulled over his head, and a bundle of bandages was tied to his back. The boy's face had face painting on it similar to those of kabuki performers.

He was accompanied by a girl dressed in light colors, her sandy blonde hair done up in four pigtails and a large fan strapped to her back. She wore a hitai-ite across her neck, and her companion wore his on his forehead. The two forehead protectors had a carving of an hourglass on them declaring both their status as ninja and their allegiance to Sunagakure.

The black-clad ninja gripped Konohamaru roughly by the front of his shirt and lifted him in the air. "Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going?" he demanded in an aggravated tone of voice. Moegi and Udon rounded the corner and nearly ran into the older boy as well, stopping just short of him.

Konohamaru squirmed in the boy's grip as Naruto rounded the corner as well. "Gotcha!" the blonde exclaimed, only to see the situation that had developed. The Hokage's grandson looked at the boy with the face paint.

The girl of the duo scoffed in irritation. "Don't start anything, we'll get in trouble," she told her fellow Suna shinobi in a reprimanding tone of voice, but he ignored her.

"I'm sorry! Now please put me down!" said the student with a tinge of fear in his voice.

The older boy sneered at the boy held in his grip. "If you didn't wanna get hurt, you should have watched where you were going!"

"Put him down you jerk!" yelled Naruto, an angry look on his face as he charged at the black-clad ninja. The target of Naruto's charge merely smirked as he saw the symbol on Naruto's hitai-ite symbolizing his loyalty. "A Konoha genin, eh?" The older boy extended the index finger on his free hand and flicked it back into his palm in a single quick gesture just as Naruto put his left foot down as the blonde jinchuurinki charged.

Naruto could feel something shift his foot so that he set it down improperly, causing the foot to slip forward and destroy his balance. The blonde cursed mentally yet reacted on instinct. Throwing his other foot forward and upward in an arc, the sun-kissed boy twisted his body to the left and quickly brought his right hand across his body and placed his palm on the dirt beneath him, doing the same with his left arm.

Gripping the ground with chakra for added traction, the blonde quickly drew his feet into his body then thrust them outward as he shove his body away from the ground using his arms. The resulting kick flew straight at the Suna ninja's midsection. The targeted boy reacted quickly, tossing aside Konohamaru with a callous flick of his wrist and shifting the bundle on his back around, using one of the straps on his shoulder as an axis to maneuver the package in front of the kick aimed at him, bracing the bundle to withstand the blow more efficiently. _  
_

Naruto felt his feet impact with a multitude of shapes, the various angles and padding between his nerves and the object preventing him from gaining an understanding of what the wrappings concealed. The shortest of Team 7 pushed off the bundle and rolled along the ground, coming smoothly into a crouch and turning to face the Suna shinobi. The boy of the duo had a calculating look on his face, apparently trying to deduce what he could of Naruto's fighting style from the blonde's recent actions. The girl looked bored, although hints of worry were evident in her face.

The trio of Academy students were looking at Naruto with a sense of wonder. "Awesome..." whispered Moegi, and Konohamaru and Udon could not help but nod in agreement. They had never seen ninja in action before, and without knowing of some of the reality-defying moves more powerful shinobi could pull off, the students were thoroughly amazed.

Naruto for his part was rather impressed with his own actions. _I guess working with Jikogisei really improved my coordination,_ he thought. _Strength, too. I don't know if I could have thrown myself like that before the mission to Wave._ The blonde looked at the Suna duo with a serious look on his face. "Why are you here?" he questioned. "If you don't answer properly, I'll have to escort you to Anbu," the blonde jinchuurinki continued in a warning tone of voice.

"Man, do they tell you anything?" responded the older boy, a mocking grin on his face as he and his female companion pulled out their permits. "We're here for the Chunin Exams."

Naruto blinked in response. "Chunin Exams?" he said, the confusion evident in his voice.

The girl with four pigtails smirked at the short genin. "You Konoha genin really are clueless." She appeared as if she was going to say more, but another presence made himself know.

"Chunin Exams, eh?" Sasuke walked around the corner, sizing up the two Suna genin. "That sounds like a good place to be." _Plenty of people to test myself against_, he thought to himself.

The black-clad boy scoffed. "If you survived 5 minutes in the Exams, pretty boy, I'd eat my face paint," he retorted, the disdain towards Sasuke's casual attitude evident. He appeared to be about to continue but froze upon yet another presence making himself known.

"Kankuro. Temari. You're an embarrassment to our village." This new appearance did not walk around the corner but instead was hanging from a nearby tree, gluing his feet to the branch with chakra. The boy had spiky red hair and dark rings around his eyes with a tattoo for Love on the upper left side of his forehead. Most notably, a large gourd was attached to his back, the cork on it preventing whatever was inside from exiting.

"G-Gaara," stuttered out the identified Kankuro, his previous arrogant and belligerent nature gone. "Hey, they started it-"

"Shut up," interrupted the redhead. "I'll kill you." While the words themselves were quite intimidating, the truly terrifying part about Gaara was not the words he used to converse with his fellow genin but the way he spoke them. His voice did not change its inflection but remained flat the entire time as if he was simply stating the sky was blue or the grass was green.

Most intimidating of all were his eyes. Completely devoid of anything remotely resembling compassion or understanding that only seemed to promise a brutal ending.

"S-sorry Gaara," Kankuro responded, his fear shining through his voice. Gaara vanished with a Shunshin, reappearing between the two other Suna genin.

"My apologies for my siblings' behavior," he stated formally. Despite the polite nature of his words, the monotone in which he spoke them grated at Sasuke.

"What's your name?" the Uchiha asked brusquely, staring at the redhead intensely.

Gaara regarded him for a moment with his dead, callous eyes.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

* * *

**AN: **And there you have it. Once again, I hope you all enjoyed. I'll admit, the ending is a tad bit rushed, but overall I think I did a good job. Let me know with a review if you agree, disagree, or would like to point out any grammatical/spelling errors I made (of which hopefully there are none).

Also, this chapter ended up being over three times longer than my last chapter! I felt quite satisfied with the length, but again, let me know with a review what you think (or PM if you don't want to review for whatever reason).

Adios!


	3. Skin of the Serpent

**Author's Note:** Welcome to another chapter of No Matter the Cost. I gotta say, I was expecting the somewhat short ending to off-put potential readers, but based on the 4 times increase of follows and favorite, I suppose the first chapter is fine as it is. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and feel free to tell me what you think!

* * *

No Matter the Cost

Chapter 3: Skin of the Serpent

"You want us to enter into the Chunin Exams?" The incredulous and exuberant expression on Naruto's face made Kakashi's eye curved upward indicating the smile hidden behind his mask.

"Yes, I believe the opportunity would be a good time for you to grow, both individually and as a team," the jounin responded in a casual tone of voice. "Your performance in Wave was very impressive, and I think it proved you are ready to advance in the world of ninja."

Naruto cheered loudly and hugged Kakashi with a surprising amount of force. The jounin merely patted the boy's head, his amusement towards Naruto's actions evident in what was visible of the jounin's face. The silver-haired man detached the orange-clad genin from his person before continuing to speak to his genin. "This is just a nomination for the exams. The choice to participate is still yours," explained the scarecrow. "Those who wish to take the exams should sign the papers I gave you and turn them into room 301 by 4 P.M. tomorrow." With his part said, Kakashi vanished with a quick Shunshin no Jutsu.

Team 7 began to walk away, together for once. "Man, these exams are gonna be pretty awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, thinking about all the people that would be in it. _There's gonna be that guy,_ thought Naruto as he remembered his encounter with Kankuro. _And I'll be able to go up against Sasuke as well._ Looking over at the aforementioned Uchiha, he saw the boy seemed to be thinking much in the way he was.

_That Gaara guy seemed to be quite powerful,_ Sasuke thought as he continued walking. The avenger shivered lightly, his anticipation building. _Should be pretty interesting..._

As caught up in their thoughts as they were, neither Sasuke nor Naruto noticed the third member of their team had slowly fallen behind them and was looking at their backs wistfully. _I can't keep up with either of them, it seems,_ Sakura thought forlornly to herself. _And now the Chunin Exams..._

As the two boys of the team split off to go their own ways, Sakura stopped on the very end of the bridge and looked out towards the village of Konoha. "Am I ready?" she whispered to herself, her worry clearly written on her face. She had been trying to improve ever since Sasuke and her had noticed Naruto practicing as they waited for Kakashi to show up for their team meetings. Sasuke, not to be outdone, had started exercises of his own, and Sakura, not wanting to be left behind and having nothing else to do, started trying to figure out something for her to practice as well.

She had started off simply reading scrolls about battle tactics and strategies but had quickly realized she needed to focus on the aspect of the ninja life in which she lacked the most: the physical part. She was not considered one of the most intelligent students from the Academy for no reason, and without the ability to pine over Sasuke, who used his training in the mornings as an excuse to stay out of her line of sight, she had to confront reality.

The pink-haired member of Team 7 had already been competent with the use of ninja wires and had practiced using them to construct a number of traps Sakura now realized she could use in the upcoming Chunin Exams. Despite the usefulness of traps, Sakura knew she would need a faster, more battle-ready use for ninja wires if she really wanted to dedicate her time to learning how to fight with them. _I just don't know if I'll be helpful at all in these exams,_ she thought worriedly to herself. _Sasuke and Naruto are already getting so powerful, and the last mission really showed how useless I am..._ She could do nothing but shake her head to try and rid herself of these negative thoughts, but they still lingered in the back of her mind, refusing to leave entirely.

* * *

Naruto sighed in vague irritation as Sakura and Ino began to bicker about Sasuke. _Even at the start of the Chunin Exams, they keep this up,_ he thought. _It's amusing, worrying, and impressive at the same time._ Amusing because their antics usually resulted in the Uchiha's discomfort, something for which Naruto always strove, worrying because they did not seem to understand the seriousness of the test they were about to undertake, and impressive because the two female genin could ignore the killing intent the older genin in the room were exuding.

Speaking of the older genin, Naruto slowly felt himself getting irritated at the anger the rest of the room seemed to feel regarding the three teams of rookies taking the Chunin Exams. Instead of attempting to mouth off to them, which, while it would have been deeply satisfying, really wouldn't have helped much, he turned away from the crowd with a small snort. He could almost feel the satisfaction of the older genin at getting him to turn away as they took his movements to signify cowardice.

Naruto would have laughed if the atmosphere in the room felt accepting of such an action. While their combined killing intent was pretty powerful, compared to an elite shinobi like Zabuza, it was paltry. The blonde fiddled with the hilt of his sword as he let a mischievous smirk cross his face. He was originally going to avoid pissing off the room, but then he decided not to.

Why? Well... why not?

"Hey Shikamaru," the jinchuurinki began, catching the lazy genin's attention. "These guys must be pretty shitty ninja if they're taking the exams at their age, right?"

Instantly, the killing intent of the room shifted from being focused in the direction of the rookie genin to being directed at Naruto specifically, who only sent an arrogant grin their way.

"Troublesome," muttered the Nara as he attempted to move himself away from the orange-clad genin without being noticed. He was glad they all blamed Naruto for the comment and had not grouped Shikamaru into the sentiment Naruto had expressed. He didn't need that kind of trouble in his life. The lazy genius had to admit, though, Naruto had a bit of a point. The oldest of the genin seemed very confident in themselves as they compared themselves to the significantly younger rookies, but if they hadn't been promoted already, they likely weren't anything special.

Sakura shook her head with a deadpan expression on his face. "Should have expected him to do something like that," she muttered quietly to herself. Despite the somewhat boneheaded nature of Naruto's remark, the amusement most of the rookie genin now expressed demonstrated the effectiveness of the blonde's unwavering confidence. Instead of the shaken looks they had previously been displaying, they now appeared much more at ease.

The rookie genin were then reprimanded by Kabuto, an older genin from Konoha who did not seem to share the animosity towards the younger ninja that exuded from the rest of the ninja. A trio of Sound shinobi attacked Kabuto for calling their village a minor one, and the assault resulted in Kabuto's glasses breaking and him throwing up for unknown reasons. All of this was interrupted before long, however.

"Shut the hell up!"

And thus began the first exam of the Chunin Exams.

* * *

Although Sasuke's face was very serious and stoic, if he was a more expressive person, one would have seen a small grin of triumph on his face after the first test of the Chunin Exams. He had felt very self-satisfied when he had cheated his way through the written exam without being caught, and his feelings were only amplified when Ibiki revealed to them they were supposed to cheat their way through the highly difficult, nearly impossible test.

The avenger felt surprised that Naruto managed to cheat without being caught more than three times, but he supposed the blonde had to have some skill in stealth. He had succeeded in avoiding fully-fledged Konoha ninja both while enacting a prank and escaping from the aftermath, so clearly he wasn't completely hopeless when it came to stealth.

...Right?

...Yeah, definitely. There was no way a genin would be able to bluff their way past a seasoned jounin, especially one as intense as Ibiki. Sasuke could only sigh in relief that his loud-mouthed teammate knew how to use stealth when the time called for it. Thank god he didn't do something stupid like leaving the test blank and betting it all on the last question. The very thought of Naruto pulling something like that made Sasuke want to pummel the blonde, but he would need his teammate in fighting condition for the next part of the Chunin Exams.

Speaking of which...

"Damn it, Naruto, why do you have to keep the scroll?"

"Cause I'm the most badass one on the team, Sakura-chan!"

A more expressive person would have let out a long and resigned, but Sasuke kept his face calm and serious. "Seriously, you two, don't discuss our scroll so openly," he told them in a reprimanding tone of voice.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly as he glanced around at the various teams that were now looking at them with thinly veiled interest. _Maybe not my best idea,_ thought the prankster. "Well, if they want some, they can-" he began only to be interrupted by a fist crashing down his head.

"Idiot! Don't piss them off even more!" Sakura yelled at him. Sasuke actually let out a sigh this time.

"Don't beat up Naruto right before the second test."

Sakura blushed as she realized the possible result of her actions. _Maybe not my best idea..._

Naruto finished rubbing the top of his head, his face still scrunched up in pain. "I think you're hitting even harder than before," the boy complained. Sakura smiled slightly upon hearing that.

"I think it's pretty obvious who should be holding the scroll, anyways," Sasuke said to the team, his voice barely audible.

The jinchuurinki rolled his eyes. "Like you'd be any better than me," he hissed at the Uchiha. "All the teams would assume you'd have it and target you right off the bat!"

Sasuke only smirked. "So you're acknowledging I'm superior?" he asked, satisfaction evident in his eyes.

"I'm acknowledging the other teams are stupid," retorted the blonde with a scoff.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes. "Let's just figure this out once we're actually in the Forest," he said. "I look around, and it would appear all the teams are starting quite a distance from us."

"We should be able to make a lot of distance in case any teams target us, then we can decide this," Sakura continued, chipping in her opinion. Sasuke nodded his agreement.

"So we agree I'm the best candidate for the job?" Naruto replied, his voice substantially louder than the whispers his team had been using. The Uchiha was about to tell the blonde what an idiot he was until he saw the mischievous look in his eyes. _He's trying to get the other teams to target him,_ the dark-haired boy realized. He scoffed and turn his head to his side, appearing to have given up on holding the scroll for himself. The hungry looks on the genin teams around them were now focused on Naruto, who seemed oblivious to them.

The avenger decided to imitate his competition and began sizing up the teams around him. Most of them seemed fairly generic, despite the fortitude they must have displayed to survive the first exam, although a few did stand out to him.

The other Konoha teams. While he did not remember the other rookie teams displaying any sort of skill that would have worried or impressed him, he did not remember the same of Naruto. If the class dobe could grow enough to defeat a ninja who even defeated Sasuke, he would have to be wary of how much the other Konoha genin could have grown. Admittedly, none of them had the ridiculous stamina Naruto possessed, but that did not mean they couldn't become stronger as well.

The older Konoha team was particular worrisome. The oddly-dressed, oversized eyebrow toting genin known as Rock Lee had thoroughly demonstrated on Sasuke's body how powerful he was, and from what the boy had said, his teammates were just as powerful or more. The Hyuuga boy on his team looked to be especially dangerous. Sasuke was not certain anyone on his team would be able to defeat him by themselves based on what he knew of the Hyuuga clan.

The Sand team they had met earlier was intriguing. The darkly-dressed boy - Kankuro, his name was - had demonstrated some odd Jutsu when he had tripped up Naruto. The redhead had thoroughly scared his siblings, which made Sasuke wonder if they even considered each other siblings. _I know I don't consider _that man_ my..._ Sasuke quickly shook off the thought. He didn't need to be distracted right before the more physically dangerous portion of the Chunin Exams so far.

The Grass team... Sasuke hadn't noticed anything special about them until one of them returned the proctor's kunai to him in possibly the creepiest manner possible: with his tongue. Or her tongue. Sasuke really wasn't sure, and all things considered, he didn't care enough to try and find out. He was intent on not finding out any further applications the Grass team might have with a Jutsu that extended the length of one's tongue.

The Sound team had displayed some type of skill earlier when they attacked Kabuto, and it appeared to be quite dangerous. The bandaged member of the trio had either barely hit the glasses-wearing genin or had not hit him at all, yet the Sound genin was able to induce vomiting in the Konoha ninja he had assaulted. Sasuke would have to be careful fighting the boy in close quarters, or he could find himself suffering a similar ailment to that which afflicted Kabuto.

Team 7 walked over to the gate they had been assigned as a starting point and waited for the signal that would indicate the start of the Second Exam. Naruto was acting fidgety, but based on the gleam in his eyes, he was not nervous but rather was excited for what lay ahead of them. Sakura seemed quite calm, which was rather surprising. Scolding Naruto, however, must have helped settle her nerves. As for Sasuke...

He was ready to show his team and their enemies just what he could do.

"Begin!"

* * *

Naruto ran along with his team through the trees trying to adjust to the feeling. It was the first time he had ever really moved quickly with Jikogisei on his back, and it had poked at his back for the first five minutes of running. He had to angle himself further forward than he was used to doing, and he had to admit it helped him move a little bit faster. Aerodynamite, or whatever Iruka had called it back in the Academy.

He was itching to whip out his sword and use it on the first enemy they ran across, but there were two problems with that.

First, they might end up fighting their comrades from Konoha like Shikamaru or Hinata, and he refused to fight them to the death. They had been classmates in their Academy days, and furthermore, they were fellow Leaf shinobi. Killing each other over a promotion was below them, although simply beating each other up was certainly okay in Naruto's book.

Second...

"Can we stop for a second? I need to take a leak," Naruto questioned, a grimace on his face as he held his bladder in check. The genin team stopped on a branch and quickly made their way to the ground.

"I don't want to hear about your problems in that much detail, Naruto!" scolded Sakura, an angry and somewhat disturbed look on her face.

The blonde merely chuckled nervously and quickly moved out of sight around a tree to relieve himself. He couldn't stop a sigh of relief from escaping him as a trickling sound could be heard while the blonde used the facilities of the forest. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel an odd, nagging sensation in the back of his head. He could admit to being a tad bit paranoid at times. Personally, he blamed his upbringing (or lack thereof) for that little fault. However, this time felt different. It's not paranoia if they're actually after you.

_It's almost as if..._ The jinchuurinki promptly dove forward as a figure clad in black with a breathing apparatus landed right where he had previously stood. The figure's feet had been positioned to catch Naruto directly in the head to knock him out. The force of the kick combined with the rough bark of the tree he would have been slammed up against would have done quite a bit of damage, and with how large the trees were in this strange forest, Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't have heard a thing.

"Hey! Why the fuck did you just attack me?" Naruto demanded accusingly. "You couldn't have waited until I was finished?" Yeah, they were ninja and all who were in a competition to murder each other, but hadn't the guy ever heard about honor among thieves? Attacking while someone is relieving themselves is where Naruto crossed the line.

Naruto's assailant said nothing but turned to look at Naruto for a split second, sizing him. His hitai-ite, declaring his allegiance to Amekagure no Sato, gleamed dimly in the forest light. Snatching a kunai out of his holster, the enemy ninja quickly launched himself at the sun-kissed boy, his knife poised to plunge into the jugular. The blonde, who had been hurriedly returning his pants to a more battle-ready position, widened his eyes at the fierce attack. Thinking quickly, he attempted to recreate the attack he had performed on Kankuro before the Chunin Exams.

Twisting his torso, Naruto planted his hands on the floor behind him and to his left, and, gluing his hands to the ground with chakra for good measure, lashed out towards the Rain genin with both feet. The move would be especially effective due to his opponent's momentum carrying him directly into Naruto's kick for added force. The attacker demonstrated his skill, however, by quickly tossing his kunai into the air above him and landing his palms into Naruto's sandals, flexing his arms to decrease the force behind the kick.

The attacker then used his own momentum to rotate his body around Naruto's, guiding himself above the blonde with a quick push on Naruto's feet. Once positioned, he retrieved the kunai he had previously relinquished into the air and hurled it down at the base of Naruto's neck, aiming to sever the spinal cord. Naruto, who had kept his head turned to observe his enemy's actions, let out a short yelp as he perceived the kunai hurtling at him. Kicking his feet up, which had been pushed to the ground by the Ame ninja's actions, the blonde shrugged his shoulders towards his head to force the sheath on his back to shift over his neck for protection.

The kunai slammed into the timely-placed sheath, deflecting off of the high quality metal. As the Rain genin landed back onto the ground, Naruto's feet reached the floor as well. Naruto's opponent lunged at him with a kick towards the head, but Naruto threw himself to the side, rolling in the dirt for two full revolutions before stopping himself. He pushed off the ground with his arms to bring himself to a crouch, swiveling around to face his assailant.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" the blonde called out, wondering if they were alright. If he had been ambushed, there was a chance his attacker's team had assaulted Naruto's teammates as well.

"Right here," came the response. Naruto glanced behind him to see Sasuke and Sakura were now positioned to attack the Rain shinobi, both holding a kunai in their hands. Naruto stood up, drawing his katana in the process.

"What took you guys so long? You should have been able to hear us fighting," the jinchuurinki questioned, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"We heard you two fighting, but..." Sakura began, trailing off with a light blush on her cheeks.

"We didn't know if you were done taking care of your business," the Uchiha completed, a smirk on his face to complement Sakura's blush.

Naruto growled, but he quickly turned his head away from his teammates to hide the faint blush on his cheeks. "Are you guys gonna help me take this guy on or what?" he demanded, pulling Jikogisei from her sheath and holding the zanpakuto in front of him.

"I'll handle him," Sasuke replied, dashing forward before Naruto could respond. The avenger launched his kunai at the Rain genin, who swiftly sidestepped the attack and slashed horizontally at Sasuke. He ducked under it with impressive agility, and Naruto could see the crimson glint in his eyes that signified the activation of Sasuke's Sharingan. The Rain genin slashed out again at Sasuke, but the Uchiha blocked the attack by stopping his opponent's arm at the wrist. He then kicked out, slamming his foot into the enemy genin's stomach and sending him rolling away.

The last of the loyal Uchihas drew a kunai from his holster in preparation to defend himself yet again, but his foresight was proven incorrect when his opponent merely used the momentum given to him by the kick to move further away from the Uchiha and flee, running through the trees. Sasuke scowled and crouched, preparing to give chase, when the retreating genin hurled a trio of kunai at Team 7, each primed with an explosive tag.

The three Konoha genin quickly scattered, taking cover among the trees as the explosives went off. Luckily, the size of the massive trees served as excellent material to weather the blast, the bark being destroyed but the integrity of the greenery remaining intact.

"You know, Sasuke, if we had fought him _together_, he might not have been able to run off like that," Naruto told the boy in a rather cross tone of voice.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't been taken so off-guard, you could have killed him before you needed my help."

"I didn't need your help!" snapped the blonde. "I could have taken him by myself no problem."

"Then why didn't you finish him before we came to your rescue?"

"I was taking a piss, asshole. Let's see how well you fight when your pants are-"

"Stop it you two!" Sakura interjected, a faint tint of red sprinkling her cheeks at the direction the conversation had started to go. "Look, we need to stay calm. If we start getting angry at each other, the other teams will jump all over us."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, eyes meeting in stubborn determination before finally coming to a grudging agreement. "Fine," the two of them said simultaneously.

Sakura seemed relieved they had not fought each other. It would not have been the first time for the two, but to do so in the middle of a life-or-death situation would have been a record low for their rivalry. "That guy probably didn't even have the scroll," she said, her eyes staring off thoughtfully. "He was acting way too recklessly for having the scroll."

"Maybe he's a reckless personality," offered the Uchiha. "Some guys could just be out for blood and not think they could lose their scroll."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied. "He was pretty careful in scouting us out. He even attacked Naruto when he was vulnerable, which means he knows how to wait."

The dark-haired avenger grunted, assenting to her point.

"He sure didn't know how to wait until I was done," Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms and squinting his eyes. "Who even attacks someone at a time like that?"

"We are ninja, Naruto," Sakura pointed out despite her distaste for the subject to which Naruto kept circling. "We have to be ready for anything."

Naruto looked to the side, away from his team. With his stubborn facial expression and crossed arms, he looked like a petulant child. "I would've had him anyways even if I wasn't prepared."

"Yeah right, dobe," chipped in the third teammate, his dark eyes holding a glint of amusement despite not even looking at the blonde. "You would have been dead if we hadn't showed up to save you."

The sun-kissed genin opened his mouth to respond but paused. He stopped squinting, looking out into the forest. "Do you guys hear anything?" he asked, his eyes squinting out into the forest. Both his teammates shook their head, mild confusion evident on their faces. The jinchuurinki continued staring out for a few moments before shaking his head. "Nevermind, it was probably nothing."

The next moment, a howling wind slammed into Team 7, and all of them were sent flying from where they had stopped. Sasuke was slammed into one of the trees while Sakura and Naruto went flying between the trees out of sight. The avenger was pinned to the wall for a moment, the sheer force of the wind forcing him flat against the bark. _Who the hell shot off this jutsu?_ the Uchiha wondered as he was held against the tree. _No genin should be capable of using this level of jutsu. _The winds finally died down, letting Sasuke slump off of the tree and onto his hands and knees.

The boy stood up as quickly as his body would let him, still recovering from the attack. He activated his Sharingan after a moment's thought, hoping to use the doujutsu to catch advanced warning of a possible assailant. _Whoever did that could be trying to pick us off one by one, _he considered. _I'll need to find Sakura and Naruto as soon as I can._ He took a step in the direction he had seen his teammates fly towards only to stumble from his first step. _Stop that,_ he berated himself. _That man won't give you any time to recover when you're fighting him._

Sasuke passed by a few trees, constantly scanning the area for signs of either hostile ninja or his teammates. He turned quickly when he heard the leaves rustle to his right, and Sakura emerged from the bushes.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, there you are!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed happily. The female of Team 7 began to make her way towards Sasuke. "I don't know where Naruto is yet, but-"

"Stop." Sakura paused, looking at Sasuke in confusion. The Uchiha had his Sharingan still active and was holding a kunai out in a position to be able to defend or attack.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you-" Sakura began only to be interrupted yet again.

"What did Kakashi-sensei's genjutsu show you in the bell test?" questioned the boy, his crimson eyes studying Sakura intently. The girl in question frowned as she thought for a moment before a deep embarrassed blush lit up on her cheeks.

"Well... it was..." the girl began hesitantly. "It... it showed..."

The avenger interrupted for the third time. "That's enough, Sakura. I had to make sure you are who you say you are."

Sakura stopped stammering as understanding dawned on her. "Oh, that makes sense. You couldn't check like I did."

Sasuke blinked, confused. "You already checked to see if I was genuine?"

"Of course."

"But you weren't even ready to defend yourself."

"Actually..." Sakura made her hand move upward in a pulling motion, the hand Sasuke now realized had been kept at her side the whole conversation. He could now see the faint gleam of light on the wire attached to her fingers. Before Sasuke could react, a web of wires crisscrossed themselves right in front of Sakura. "If you had lunged at me, I would have simply set this off and entangled you."

Normally, Uchiha Sasuke is a very difficult person to impress. You could set off a firework show with enough missiles to attack a nation, and all you might get from him would be a raised eyebrow and condescending look. However, to set up a trap right near Sasuke without him noticing, while his Sharingan was active, using ninja wires, equipment Sasuke himself is quite adept with...

"Not bad."

...Would still not warrant much of a compliment. Still, a compliment it was, if barely, and Sakura felt the corners of her mouth curve upward slightly at his words. She almost giggled with a silly expression on her face but managed to stop her inner fangirl from showing. _This is a serious test,_ she thought reprimandingly to herself. _I can swoon over Sasuke-kun once we're done here._

"How did you know it was me, anyways?" Sasuke questioned, curiosity showing in his eyes.

"Your eyes." Sasuke blinked, confused yet again. Sakura suppressed yet another giggle at his expression. "Your eyes have one tomoe in the left and two in the right," she explained. "A lot of people don't know about how early Sharingan eyes have less than 3 tomoe, and even those who do wouldn't know your tomoe are uneven."

As she explained, yet another rustle could be heard, this time coming from Sasuke's left side. The Uchiha turned to face the newcomer, once again holding his knife out in front of him. Sakura also pulled out a kunai, bracing herself in the direction the noise had come from. The orange color was a dead giveaway as to who was coming towards them.

"Hey guys!" Naruto exclaimed as he walked towards Sasuke and Sakura, his eyes squinting cheerfully. "That was a crazy wind jutsu, wasn't it?" Naruto's eyes opened as he took in his teammates' weapons held at the ready. "Are we about to get attacked?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Who was the first person to get the bell from Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked in a curt tone of voice, his eyes narrowed.

Naruto blinked. "Why are you asking?" he replied, his lack of understanding coloring his voice.

"We have to check to make sure you aren't using a Henge to disguise yourself as Naruto," Sakura explained quickly, remaining on guard as Naruto had not confirmed his identity.

Naruto looked up for a moment, hand on his chin in a thinking pose, then nodded. "That makes sense!" he said cheerfully. "Anyways, none of us got it! It's a trick question!"

Sakura let out a sigh of relief and lowered her kunai, only to yelp as Sasuke hurled his directly at Naruto's chest. The boy yelped and dived out of the way, the kunai just missing him. "Hey! What was that for?" he asked angrily.

Sakura looked at Sasuke. "Yeah, he got it right! Why did you attack him?" she said, bringing her kunai up again in defense.

The Uchiha smirked. "Because he was only half right. It was a trick question, but not like you were thinking. If Naruto really answered that question, he would have started pouting and talking about how he almost got a bell, but since you did nothing like that, I know you're the fake."

Naruto stared into Sasuke's eyes, crimson versus cerulean, before a smile broke out on the blonde's face. This was not the normal, cheerful smile the jinchuurinki wore, though. This smile was creepy, full of sinister intentions. 'Naruto' began to chuckle, his laughter even more sinister than his smile. In a puff of smoke, the image of the sun-kissed blonde was replaced with the tall, feminine Grass ninja who had handed Anko her kunai back before the second exam.

"Very good, Sasuke-kun," the ninja said, his unnaturally long tongue darting out to lick his lips in the creepiest manner possible. "I didn't think you'd be that clever."

"Where's Naruto?" the Uchiha demanded, his eyes glinting in the dim forest light. "Don't think you can beat us: it's two against one."

"Oh, Naruto's entertaining my little pet right now," came the reply. "I suppose it would be more accurate to say he's the entertainment for my little pet." The Grass ninja's eyes became murderous, losing all traces of amusement. "And if you think a numbers advantage will help you in the slightest, you are not nearly as intelligent as I had hoped." With that, a flood of murderous intent slammed into the two genin.

Sakura had thought Zabuza's killing intent was powerful, but this genin (who was clearly anything but) had so much more. She could see images flashing in her mind of the thousands of ways the ninja could kill them before they could even blink. She fell to her knees and vomited, her body unable to handle the stress.

Sasuke handled the intensity much better, but he still found himself unable to move, his body shaking uncontrollably. A bead of sweat dripped down from his forehead as he felt the various ways the Grass ninja would murder them. The ninja in question chuckled, but the amusement from the sound did not reach his cold eyes.

"At least you are handling yourself better than your teammate, Sasuke-kun," he/she/it began. "But if you cannot even handle this level of power, you'll never be able to fight your brother."

Upon mention of the Uchiha responsible for the death of his clan, the shaking in Sasuke's body stopped. Slowly, his muscles tensed as if straining against a massive weight, the last loyal Uchiha stood up and straightened, looking directly at the Grass-nin with his swirling Sharingan eyes.

"Do not speak of that man to me," Sasuke spoke through clenched teeth, his rage evident.

The creepy smile grew. "Ah, I see your hatred grants you strength," the ninja said. "Let's see how strong your hatred truly is." With that, the ninja launched himself at Sasuke, extending his fist out in a fast jab.

Sasuke prepared himself when he saw his opponent start to move, and he quickly leaned his head to the side to avoid a jab that appeared only as a blur even to his Sharingan. He quickly raised his arms over his chest in a cross block as the other fist slammed into him, sending him backwards but not off his feet. The Uchiha quickly recovered and threw his left hand in a quick jab at his opponent, who blocked it with an upraised left arm. Before Sasuke could react, the Grass ninja's right arm whipped forward and slammed into the Uchiha's stomach, sending the boy tumbling through the dirt.

The last loyal Uchiha quickly recovered, getting his feet under him as he refused to allow his arms to cradle his stomach. _That guy hits like a monster!_ he thought disbelievingly. _How the hell does a genin hit so hard?_ Taking a deep breath, Sasuke dashed at his opponent, closing the distance with impressive speed and launching a powerful right hook at the ninja's head. His attack was stopped almost effortlessly by the Grass-nin bringing his forearm inside the strike, stopping the attack at the wrist.

Undeterred, Sasuke drew in his hand and used the momentum to bring his opposite leg around, quickly striking at the unprotected right side. The Grass ninja dropped his right elbow to take the hit and quickly countered by shooting his left hand out in a knife hand at Sasuke's throat. Sasuke, instead of dropping his chin to protect his windpipe, twisted his torso around as he lifted his leg, removing the support for his upper body and allowing gravity to pull him out of the way of the attack.

With realizing it, he copied Naruto as he planted his hands on the ground and continued his twisting motion all the way to his lower body, whipping the heel of his left leg around to strike at his opponent's head. The Grass ninja threw his head away from the kick, his body following the motion to make himself go through a snake-like sidestep. Sasuke's heel still connected, but thanks to the Grass-nin going in the same direction as the attack, the power behind the kick was reduced significantly. Sasuke's opponent quickly threw a kick out at the genin's head, intent on breaking his nose.

But Sasuke's head wasn't there anymore. He had pushed himself up with his arms, coming into a crouch and bringing his hands together to begin to form handseals. Sasuke had to duck a left jab from the Grass-nin, but he quickly completed the jutsu before his opponent could further the assault.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

A searing fireball exploded from Sasuke's mouth, completely engulfing the Grass ninja whose face held a very surprised expression on it. The Konoha ninja maintained his jutsu until he felt certain anyone would have been burned to a crisp. He ended the flow of chakra fueling the technique, the flames dying down without their source of fuel. When the brightness of the flames had lowered enough, Sasuke checked what he could see of the Grass ninja's remains, which looked suspiciously like pieces of wood...

_Kawarimi no Jutsu_ (Substitution Technique), Sasuke thought, cursing silently to himself. He quickly glanced around the area, looking above him as well with his swirling Sharingan eyes. _Not around or above me. He's not the type of guy to flee at the first sign of opposition, so he's still here. The only place he can be is..._ Sasuke didn't bother to finish his thought, choosing instead to jump upward into the trees quickly. As he did so, the Grass-nin erupted from the ground, his fist occupying the air in which Sasuke's solar plexus had previously been located.

The creepy, unnatural smile the Grass ninja had previously held was still in place on his/her/its face. "Hm... very good, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke didn't reply, instead drawing out a set of kunai and hurling them at his opponent. The Grass ninja swiftly sidestepped the assault and leapt up to the trees, joining Sasuke on one of the branches. The Uchiha pulled out a set of shuriken and swiftly launched them as well. The Grass ninja chuckled.

"Is this the extent of your abilities, Sasuke-kun?" he asked mockingly, easily weaving around the poorly aimed barrage. The Konoha genin, instead of showing frustration or anger, flashed a tight, satisfied grin at his opponent.

"Sakura, now!" he shouted out.

The Grass ninja blinked. His teammate? The pink-haired genin had lost control of her digestive system just from some killing intent. He/she/it then felt a set of wires close around his/her/its arms that drew the ninja tight against the tree. A set of wires were bunched together in the middle, having been drawn together by the pattern of the trap, and led straight back to Sasuke. The final barrage of shuriken had come with wires attached, which had gone around the Grass ninja. Sakura had quickly formed them together in a trap to bind the enemy thanks to her newly increased skill with ninja wire.

Sasuke, still holding his end of the wires, moved the bundle to his mouth and gripped the ends with his teeth. He formed a set of handseals, ending on the sign for Dragon.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)

An immense flame, even larger than that of the Grand Fireball technique, exploded out of Sasuke's mouth and raced quickly down the wire, guided straight for the Grass ninja, whose eyes widened upon seeing the technique. The Grass-nin screamed in agony as the fire slammed into him/her/it, engulfing the body completely. Sasuke watched with satisfaction. _Let's see you substitute your way out of this,_ he thought viciously. Sakura, who had moved from behind the tree trunk to stand near Sasuke, turned away from the flaming body. She gazed around the area, absently making sure no one else was coming to attack them, and a thought struck her as she did so.

"Where is Naruto, anyways?"

* * *

"I hate snakes so much right now!" screamed a certain blonde as he ran as quickly as he could through the forest. Behind him, a massive snake crashed through the undergrowth, its head as large as a boulder. He had been recovering from his long trip courtesy of the mysterious wind jutsu that had swept into his team. He figured the rest of Team 7 was back the way he came, and he was about to head that direction when this snake the size of an elephant appeared and decided to make him lunch. So naturally, he ran, swearing at the top of his lungs.

"I swear, this forest is so goddamn evil! Why would snakes ever grow to be this fucking large!" Naruto yelled, still maintaining a short lead over his reptilian pursuer. He twisted around and hurled a couple kunai at the snake's head, but the small knives did little more than irritate the reptile, which began to slither after the jinchuurinki at a more hurried pace. Naruto cursed some more and continued to run, but just as he looked ahead, he tripped on an upraised root.

"Goddamn it," he yelled just as he faceplanted into the ground. Pushing himself up, he tried to scramble forward again. _Maybe if I drop some exploding tags down his mouth-_ he thought, only to be interrupted by the mouth of the serpent. Falling down had given the snake just enough time to catch up.

"Fu-" Naruto began as the reptile closed its mouth over him. With a small gulping noise, the blonde disappear down the snake's throat.

* * *

Naruto blinked repeatedly as his vision came back into focus. "I remember this place..." he said quietly to himself. He had appeared again at the mountaintop, the storm still howling overhead. He took a moment to feel the rain from the clouds splatter onto his face, their constant assault somehow soothing to him. He remembered his situation, however, and began moving forward. He opened the door to the old wooden shack and stepped inside.

The interior had not changed much. The small fire held steady, surrounded still by the three stones. The bloodstains were still there, but they seemed to have shrunk somewhat, although Naruto couldn't be sure. The kimono-clad girl, Jikogisei, still sat in the small wooden chair, her lyre set aside as opposed to in her hands like last time.

"Ah, Naruto, you're back," Jikogisei said, her voice as melodious as the first time the two had met. "I wish it were under better circumstances, but these are stressful times for you."

"Nah, this exam is a piece of cake," Naruto replied nonchalantly, his strained grin betraying the falsehood of his words.

Jikogisei shook her head. "There is no need to try and lie to me, Naruto," she said in a slightly reprimanding tone of voice. "I am a part of you, after all, so all you're accomplishing is trying - and failing - to deceive yourself."

The blonde chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Yeah, I guess that wasn't really necessary." Lowering his hand, his face grew serious. "Why am I here? As much as I would love to chat, my team needs me."

The girl looked at Naruto with her crimson eyes, a much deeper and calmer shade than Sasuke's Sharingan. "You do not understand the scope of my - of our power," she told him. "You've grown in your swordsmanship, yes, but I am much more than just a katana. I unlock powers within you that you did not even realize you were capable of using."

Naruto frowned in thought. "Like... when I used that chakra attack against Haku?" he replied haltingly, his throat constricting slightly in sadness at the thought of Haku.

Jikogisei smiled, full of empathy and understanding. "Yes," she responded. "That move is called Shinkou Seirei (Crimson Spirit). It sends out a wave of chakra that has been condensed and focused to deal incredible damage. To use these techniques, you'll need to invoke my name like you did after you first met me."

The blonde thought back. "You mean when I said 'Bleed, Jikogisei'?" he responded questioningly.

The kimono-clad girl nodded. "By acknowledging your power in that manner, you'll open access to this power." The girl's expression then changed from her beautiful smile to a much more serious face. "But for everything in life, there is a cost, and our powers are no different."

Naruto shrugged. "So it'll use up some chakra. Thanks to the damn fox, I've got more than enough."

Jikogisei shook her head. "Chakra is not the only price. Using our strength like this involves a two-fold price. While chakra certainly is part of the cost, you must also sacrifice part of yourself to use these techniques."

Naruto's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "A part of myself?" he echoed, confused.

The kimono-clad girl nodded. "Using techniques such as Shinkou Seirei will force your body to hurt itself in compensation of the power exerted. If not for the damage your external body takes, your chakra coils would take the injuries instead, which could result in permanent damage and even stop you from using chakra. This is also the reason why you need to invoke my name to bring out your Shikai (First Release)."

"Shikai?" asked the boy.

"Yes, Shikai, the name given to this first stage of power. In this stage, you'll gain a small increase to your speed, strength, and reflexes as well as being able to use techniques like Shinkou Seirei. Along with costing you chakra, you will experience cuts on your body when you use jutsus like Shinkou Seirei, normally on yours arms since they are closest to my manifestation."

Naruto nodded slowly, comprehension dawning on him. "So every time I fire off a Shinkou Seirei, I'll get cut?" he asked in confirmation.

Jikogisei nodded yet again. "Sacrifices must be made to protect that which you care about. While I'll be able to help you unleash your full power, you will never emerge from a battle unscathed while you use our strength."

The jinchuurinki nodded swiftly, fully understanding the situation. "If I have to bleed a little to save my friends, I'll gladly accept that price."

The crimson-eyed girl smiled, this time a smile full of sorrow and pain. "I understand the difficulty of your life. I understand how much you have already suffered, but know that all of your pain and sadness will only make you strong enough to weather whatever storm the world throws at you." As she spoke, Naruto's vision began to fade, eventually going to black as his eyelids closed.

Naruto opened his eyes, but he still couldn't see. _Where am I?_ he thought in confusion. Feeling around, he appeared to be in some type of wet, fleshy tunnel. A hissing noise surprised him, and a sudden convulsion around him forced him to move along the tunnel. "I'm in the fucking snake?" he whispered angrily. "Oh, fuck this!" He reached behind him, and with some difficulty, he drew Jikogisei off his back. "Bleed, Jikogisei!" A brief dim glow in the darkness indicated visually the change to Shikai, and Naruto felt his reflexes sharpen, the world coming further into focus. He drew back his zanpakuto behind his back, holding it with two hands, and sliced forward with all of his now increased strength.

"Shinkou Seirei!"

A crescent wave of blood-red chakra fired out of the blade of Jikogisei, going in the same direction of the slice and oriented the same as the sword. The technique ripped out of the serpent's body and continued all the way to the head, completely splitting it in half. Naruto pulled himself out of the corpse, panting and attempting to clean his face as best as he can. "Now then, let's find whatever asshole set this thing on me and show him exactly what I can do," he muttered angrily as he took off into the trees.

The jinchuurinki arrived at the scene of the fight between the Grass ninja and Sasuke (with Sakura's help) just as Sasuke roasted his opponent with Ryuuka no Jutsu. "Damn, Sasuke," Naruto commented, dropping down to land on the branch his teammates occupied. "Wasn't that a bit overkill?"

"Better overkill than underkill," responded the Uchiha in a low voice. He couldn't help but get the feeling his opponent hadn't been using his full strength, so when he got the chance, he made sure not to hold back and use his most powerful technique. "We didn't get a scroll, but at least it weeds out some of the competition." Naruto opened his mouth to respond but was stopped by the wave of creepy laughter that filled the area.

"Kukuku... Most impressive, Sasuke-kun," came the voice of the Grass ninja. Sasuke stared disbelievingly at the charred remains of his opponent. Then, before his spinning Sharingan eyes, the mangled, burnt corpse melted away into a pile of mud and the Grass ninja stepped forward, completely unharmed. Not quite untouched, however; the upper right portion of his face had changed drastically to look like a completely different person. The ragged border separating the two parts of their faces looked as if scarred from a fire, and Sasuke realized with a start it was the small part of his face that had changed that was the true face.

The Grass-nin had been wearing a disguise the entire time, and not even Anko, a jounin, had noticed apparently. The part that was the ninja's true face was very lean, with dark markings around the almost golden eyes. The color of the eyes could be considered beautiful by some if not for the unnerving slits the ninja had instead of rounded pupils. Even more off-putting was the sheer level of desire filling the eyes. They were the eyes of a man who wanted everything and knew he could take it if he so pleased.

"I didn't think you'd be able to inflict that much damage," the man continued, his creepy smile once again on his face. "Remember my name: Orochimaru. When you need power to accomplish your goals, you will seek me out." And with that, his neck stretched out much like his tongue had before and shot out at Sasuke, who tried to sidestep the lunge. The Uchiha found himself unable to dodge the ridiculously fast head, especially in his chakra-deprived state, and felt a searing pain on his neck as the newly-identified Orochimaru bit down with strangely sharp teeth. The last loyal Uchiha could feel something happening on his neck, but he couldn't tell what was happening through the pain.

Naruto watched, unable to react even in his heightened state, as Orochimaru branded his teammate on the neck. His eyes narrowed as he launched himself at the ninja's extended head. "Bastard!" he screamed at Orochimaru. As he brought the blade down, he hit nothing but air, Orochimaru having already retracted his neck and turned away from Team 7.

"Tell Sasuke-kun he will desire more power and that I am the only one he can get it from," the man told them, his yellow eyes glinting in the dim lighting. Naruto ignored Sakura's cry of "Naruto!" and threw himself yet again at Orochimaru. As he drew close, the jinchuurinki swung his blade horizontally, aiming to chop the man in half. The edge of his katana began to shine more brightly as he yelled out, "Shinkou-"

He never completed his sentence or unleashed his attack due to the interruption Orochimaru provided in the form of a wicked backhand to the face that sent the blonde flying off to the side where he collided headfirst into a tree and fell to the forest floor. The infamous missing-nin continued walking as if Naruto had never tried to attack him. "I must say, it is surprising you managed to defeat my little pet, but Sasuke-kun's teammates are of no consequence to me. He'll abandon you soon enough."

"You're wrong."

Orochimaru paused, turning with a raised eyebrow to look at the final standing member of Team 7. "Little girl, if you truly believe that about people like Sasuke-kun, you have much to learn," he told her patronizingly, vanishing with a Shunshin no Jutsu (Teleportation Technique) immediately after saying his peace.

Sakura collapsed once again onto her knees, but unlike the previous occasion, she did not vomit. _I cannot be weak right now,_ she thought determinedly. She cast a glance towards where the last Uchiha had collapsed in agony and towards the floor where Naruto laid unconscious. _Sasuke-kun and Naruto need me. I won't let them down._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you all for reading my chapter if you made it this far. Once again, as always, feel free to leave a review telling me what you think of my new chapter. Even if it's only a few sentences, a little bit can go a long way.

In case some people were wondering, this is not truly a crossover with Bleach. Instead, it draws inspiration from Bleach, but all of the mechanics will be fully integrated into the Naruto universe. This concept will be elaborated more later in the story since there are some rather important plot points wrapped up in the explanation.

I tried to expand upon Sakura as a character a bit in this chapter. Sasuke and Naruto held more of the spotlight, but in terms of character development, I feel as if Sakura was the one who changed and grew up the most. I was not and am not fond of Sakura in canon, so I hope to change her to be a bit more to my preference. You will be seeing more of other characters besides Team 7 in later chapters, but for right now, they are the focus.

Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time. Don't expect an update for a good couple of weeks as I will be out of town and starting a new job, all of which will take up my time.

Adios!


End file.
